Shogi

Shogi is a famous game from Japan.

Two people play on a big board. The board has 81 squares.

You use flat pieces to play. These pieces have names like king and rook.

Some pieces are even called gold generals.

One cool rule makes this game special. When you catch a piece, you keep it. You can drop it back on the board later.

Your goal is to trap the other king. This is how you win the game.

It is a great way to test your skill. Do you want to play?

Shogi is a famous strategy game from Japan.

It is often called Japanese chess. Two players face each other across a large board. The board has 81 squares in a grid.

You use flat, wedge-shaped pieces called koma. Each player has 20 pieces. These include a king, a rook, and a bishop. There are also gold generals and silver generals. You might also use knights, lances, and pawns.

One rule makes Shogi very special. When you capture an opponent's piece, you keep it. These are called pieces in hand. On your turn, you can drop a piece back onto the board. This makes the game very complex and exciting.

Some pieces can also be promoted. This means they gain new powers. You can tell a piece is promoted by turning it over. The back side has different marks.

The goal is to trap the other player's king. This is called checkmate. It is a wonderful way to test your skill and focus.

Shogi is a famous strategy game from Japan.

Many people call it Japanese chess. It is a game for two players. They sit across a large board. The board has an 81-square grid.

The name Shogi means "general's board game." It is a very popular game in Japan. People love it because it is deep and exciting. It belongs to the same family as Western chess. It also shares roots with games like chaturanga.

Players use flat, wedge-shaped pieces called koma.

Each player starts with 20 pieces. You have one king and one rook. You also have one bishop. There are two gold generals and two silver generals. You also get two knights and two lances. Finally, you have nine pawns.

The pieces have names written in kanji. These are special characters used in Japanese writing. Some pieces are larger because they are more important. To start, players might use a piece toss called furigoma.

This helps decide who moves first.

One rule makes Shogi very unique.

In many games, captured pieces are removed. In Shogi, you keep them as "pieces in hand." This is called mochigoma. On your turn, you can drop these pieces back onto the board. This rule might have started in the 15th century. Some think it relates to samurai changing sides in battle. This rule makes the game very complex. It is even more complex than Western chess. It also makes draws very rare in professional games.

Pieces can also undergo promotion.

When a piece moves into a promotion zone, it gains power. You show this by turning the piece over. The back side has different marks or characters. For example, a promoted pawn is called a tokin. A promoted rook is called a dragon king. A promoted bishop is called a dragon horse. These new moves change how you play. You must plan carefully for these changes. The goal is to checkmate the opponent's king.

Shogi has a long and interesting history.

Its earliest ancestor was chaturanga from India. This game started in the 6th century. Shogi likely traveled to Japan from China or Korea. One old record from the year 1210 shows an early version. That version did not have the special drop rule. The modern version we play today is very old too. It was played as early as the 15th century. Today, people use computer engines to study the game.

Even the strongest computers find it a great challenge.

Shogi is a famous abstract strategy board game played by two people.

In Japan, it is one of the most popular board games. The name Shogi literally means "general's board game." It belongs to the same family of games as Western chess and Indian chaturanga.

While it shares roots with these games, Shogi has unique rules that change how players think. These rules create a game that is deep, decisive, and highly complex.

Two players face each other across a rectangular board.

The board is a grid of 9 ranks and 9 files. This creates a total of 81 squares. The squares are undifferentiated, meaning they have no colors or marks. Players often play on a raised board. This board is hollowed underneath to make a pleasing sound when pieces move. To decide who moves first, players use a method called furigoma.

A player tosses five pawns, and the number of promoted pawns facing up determines the turn order.

Each player uses 20 flat, wedge-shaped pieces called koma.

The pieces are pentagonal and vary slightly in size. The most important pieces are the largest. Each player starts with one king, one rook, one bishop, two gold generals, two silver generals, two knights, two lances, and nine pawns.

The pieces face forward by pointing their narrow end toward the opponent. This shows which player controls the piece. Most pieces have their names written in kanji, which are Chinese characters used in Japanese writing.

One of the most distinctive features of Shogi is the "drop rule."

When you capture an opponent's piece, you do not remove it from the game. Instead, you keep it as a "piece in hand," known as mochigoma. On any future turn, you may drop that piece back onto an empty square on the board. This rule was likely invented in the 15th century. Some historians believe it relates to 15th-century samurai mercenaries switching loyalties after being captured. This mechanic makes Shogi much more complex than Western chess. Its game tree complexity is estimated at approximately 10,226, which is higher than the 10,123 of FIDE chess.

Pieces in Shogi can also undergo promotion.

When a piece moves into the opponent's promotion zone, it can gain new powers. To show this, the player turns the piece over to reveal different characters on the back. For example, a promoted rook is called a ryūō, or "dragon king." A promoted bishop is called a ryūma, or "dragon horse." A promoted pawn is called a tokin. These changes mean that pieces become more powerful as they move across the board. Players must plan carefully for these sudden shifts in strength.

Every piece has a specific way it moves, which is called its influence, or kiki. The rook and bishop are ranging pieces. They can move any number of squares in a straight line. The knight is unique because it can jump over other pieces.

Unlike knights in international chess, Shogi knights can only move forward. They jump to a square that is one square straight forward and one square diagonally forward. Other pieces, like the gold and silver generals, move only one square at a time. The goal is to use these movements to checkmate the opponent's king.

Shogi has a very long history that stretches back many centuries.

Its earliest ancestor, chaturanga, originated in India during the 6th century. Shogi likely traveled to Japan via China or Korea after the Nara period. Historical documents from 1210 record an early version of the game. However, that version did not include the drop rule. The modern version of Shogi we recognize today was played as early as the 15th century. Because of the drop rule, draws are very rare. In professional games, draws occur only about 2% to 3% of the time. This makes the game very decisive compared to Western chess, where draws happen more often.